Booking Through Thursday

Booking Through Thursday
Almost everyone can name at least one author that you would love just ONE more book from. Either because they’re dead, not being published any more, not writing more, not producing new work for whatever reason . . . or they’ve aged and aren’t writing to their old standards any more . . . For whatever reason, there just hasn’t been anything new (or worth reading) of theirs and isn’t likely to be.
If you could have just ONE more book from an author you love . . . a book that would be as good any of their best (while we’re dreaming) . . . something that would round out a series, or finish their last work, or just be something NEW . . . Who would the author be, and why? Jane Austen? Shakespeare? Laurie Colwin? Kurt Vonnegut?

This is actually a hard one. I read this challenge last night and I could not think of a single author. Most authors that were springing to mind were ones who are still writing but I am just impatient when it comes to waiting for their next book.

This morning however, I was talking to someone about an author who has passed away. A friend had mentioned a film she remembered seeing and it was "Village of the Damned". This of course is based on "The Midwich Cuckoos" by John Wyndham one of my favourite authors. I have not yet read all of his books but I have read the vast majority of them. Wyndham had been writing most of his life. In his early life her wrote under a variety of names of many different genres. He didn't start writing the books he was better known for until after WWII. These books are generally classed as science fiction but Wyndham himself classed his writing as "logical fantasy".

Despite having been written 50 years ago his books do have the ability to scare me. The main one is "The Day Of the Triffids". I first came across it in the form of a film when I was little. I have never recovered from it. There are plants out there today which I watch closely to see if it's going to move (one of which my mum insists keeping in the back garden). At school we had to read the book. This was the first time I had read Wyndham. My first reaction was horror. There was no way I wanted to read a book that film had been based on. It had scared me that much. What surprised me though was that I enjoyed it. Once I ignored that fear I realised how good the writing actually was (and made the film look so very poor). I then made a point of reading "The Midwich Cuckoos". I remembered that film well too (was called Village of the Damned) although it hadn't scared me quite as much. This book is probably one of my favourites. I have also went on to read The Chrysalids, The Seeds Of Time and Chocky.

Why would I want him to produce one more book? Wyndham died in 1969. I would be very interested to see what form a book by him would have taken had he been alive now. I wonder what he would have written had he known about computers, the Internet, reality shows, today's political unrest and everything else that has happened since then. The same could be said for most authors I imagine but Wyndham is one I would be truly interested to read.

Lili, Timewarden answered your question amongst my comments. As he said you can print it out but it will use a lot of paper. This book was probably over 200pgs in novel format.

Timewarden, I never thought of comparing Human nature with Inner Light but I agree. Both gave people the opportunity to see what a different life would be like. Both main characters are interested only in travel and discovery and so don't have time for families. Both saw that given half a chance they could be happy in that alternative life. Very much the same concept.